anyone re-use strings?

mello_bedwetter · #1 01-23-2009, 09:30 PM

I don't know if that title makes sense or not. Here's what I'd like to know. I had a set of EB flats on my Geddy for a month or two and then switched to EB Hybrids. Now that I switched I've found that I prefer the sound of the flats. Since the flats are only 2 months old tops, do you think I can put them back on or would it be best to get a new set? I wonder if they would wind around the tuning peg all right. The ends are "curled" since they've all ready been used. Thanks.

NJL · #2 01-23-2009, 09:35 PM

use them again!!

i don't know about flats, but with rounds, use denatured alcohol to clean them. search for some threads on denatured alcohol.

arjune · #3 01-23-2009, 09:40 PM

Flats only get better with age.

musicman7722 · #4 01-23-2009, 09:41 PM

When I was a wee ad of 21 in 1970 something I couldn't afford new strings so I'd just boil them in water and then dry them off in the overn and reuse them. My Les Paul Studio bass never compained.

CP

R D Maynard · #5 01-23-2009, 09:50 PM

Zippo lighter fluid works great for cleaning old bass strings. It gets the crud off and won't damage wood or finishes. Hoppe's #9 gun cleaner is even more effective for really bad gunk, but it stinks and will p*ss off your bandmates and female companions.

TimWilson · #6 01-23-2009, 09:55 PM

I've boiled and re-used strings for 20 years. You can often get several extra weeks out of a set by boiling 'em a few times. I'll have to try that denatured alcohol trick, though... Does it work while the strings are still on the bass?

Gruntollio Bass · #7 01-23-2009, 10:17 PM

You should be fine putting the strings back on. I haven't done it for years but I always keep a spare used set in my gig case as well as a spare new set. If I happen to break a string during a gig and my strings are a bit worn, I find it better to replace the offending string with a worn one so I don't have 1 really bright sounding string amoungst the rest.
Fortunately I haven't broken a string for years either. Actually.....come to think of it, over 20 years of gigging live I think I've only ever broken a string during a show once.

mello_bedwetter · #8 01-23-2009, 10:22 PM

I slapped them back on just now. I use flats then I get a wild hair and put on some rounds and after a couple of weeks I have to go back to the flats. I have flats on a precision(MIA), and now my Geddy again. I have a Standard jazz('92 MIM) with EB Hybrids. When the new MIM's come out with the maple fretboard I'm getting a precision MIM and I'm sure it'll get flats on it too. At that time I'll either get rid of the '92 jazz or keep it and put some flats on it. Thanks for the input.

bassbully · #9 01-24-2009, 10:34 AM

Yes i do it. I have been trying diffrent sets to find my sound and if i remove them and they are still pretty new i coil them and place a piece of masking tape to hold them together. I then label the set and hang them on a nail on a rafter in my music room.
I have about 5 sets now. I also have about 10-12 sets of strings i tried thru the years, hated or took off basses when i bought them .Offen these strings were new. I dont know what to do with them? I have had no problems ever re- stringing a bass with used strings as long as they were not bad and taken care of.

xgator4u · #10 01-30-2009, 08:38 PM

yes you can put them back on, if during tuning it dont' break, you are good to go. I always keep a set of old strings on hand in case of a string " FAILURE", which of course will always happen at the worst possible time. It is easier and quicker to just replace the 1 failed string from the OLD set, than to re string entirely. YES the denatured alcohol works..

Sub5ound · #11 01-31-2009, 12:01 AM

I'm constantly trying new strings and throwing on older sets I prefer over newer ones.
It all depends on if my bass was set up with a specific gauge or not. I'll keep a set if it won't screw up my action with a change.

varunkapahi · #12 01-31-2009, 12:03 AM

i have been using and reusing and again the same couple of sets for a year now

shamus63 · #13 01-31-2009, 12:27 AM

If they're in pretty good shape when I swap them out, then I'll usually save them for future use.

In this economy, it doesn't make sense to trash a good set of strings.

MNAirHead · #14 01-31-2009, 12:45 AM

I commonly buy used strings.. I'm not a fan of new ones as they're a bit hot on some active basses.. new strings tend to sound like springs... not strings.

Curtybob · #15 01-31-2009, 01:30 AM

I put forth the effort to build a string cleaning tube from PVC pipe, and have been using it with denatured alcohol for a good while now. It works alot better than boiling, and doesn't speed up corrosion like all the crap in your everyday tapwater will. Seems like boiling will get you a week or two of cleaner strings, then you might be able to boil them again. But that's about the extent of it. Using the tube cleaner, I have been rotating 2 sets of strings for probably 6 or 7 months, and there's no signs that they won't continue to work fine.

bass12 · #16 01-31-2009, 05:21 PM

Yes, I tend to re-use mine once and then I send them to Cuba, where a lot of amazing musicians simply can't afford many of the basics (toothbrushes, let alone bass strings).

fretlessguy · #17 02-01-2009, 07:03 AM

I have taken them off one bass when they did not seem to work and used them on another one where they did. As a general rule on useage, once they go dead I get rid of them.

GriffinREX · #18 02-01-2009, 04:07 PM

I just boil them in distilled water.

Curtybob · #19 02-01-2009, 06:04 PM

Still a huge difference between boiling in any water (including distilled), and using a solvent like denatured alcohol. Also, I've only filled up the tube I made with denatured alcohol once. It holds about a quart of alcohol, and the alcohol only costs about $6 a gallon. Win-win.

Ric5 · #20 02-01-2009, 06:08 PM

anyone re-use strings?

NOPE